The thief left it behind: the moon at my window - Ryokan

Saturday, August 23, 2008

RUMI

Whirling


These beautiful poems were gathered by Gra-anna from our Friend Stephen Moss


Poems by Rumi

I am a painter,
Painting pictures all the time,
Yet when I see them near Your beauty
I want to throw them all away.

I am a sculptor, carving images
and filling each with life,
Yet when I compare these with Your beauty
I want to dump them in a fire.

O bringer of sweet wine,
Enemy of the sober
You have laid waste to
every house I ever built!

Tell me, are You the cupbearer or do You take the cup from my sober lips?
Perhaps You are both, the builder and the ruiner of all that I build

My soul has merges with Yours-
Water into wine, wine into wine.
Now there is only the scent of Your rose perfume.

Every drop of my blood calls out,
Dye me the colour of Your love
Make me the jewel of Your affection.

In this house of water and clay
my heart is in ruins.
O Beloved, please enter my house or let me leave this empty world

---

Last night I gave a star a message for You.
On my bended knees, I begged her to tell You
How much I pray that You turn my stony heart
golden with Your radiance

I bared my chest to show my wounds
And asked her to tell You that if I sway this way and that, it is because I need to calm
the infant of my heart
As babies sleep when rocked in their cradles

My beloved, my heart was Yours always,
nurse it like a child, save it from wandering

How long will You keep me in exile?

I will be quiet now, but even in my silence
my heart will long for one glance of Your grace.

---


Do not worry if our harp breaks, thousands more will appear.
We have fallen into the arms of love, where all is music.
If all the harps in the world were burned down,
still inside the heart
there will be hidden music playing

Do not worry if all the candles in the world flicker and die
We have the spark to start the fire

The songs we sing are like foam on the surface of the sea of being,
whilst the precious gems lie deep beneath
But the tenderness in our songs is a reflection of what lies in the depths

Stop the flow of words
Open the window of you heart
And let the spirit speak

---

When You come back inside my chest
No matter how long I've been away
I look around and see the way

At the end of my life, when I have one, last breath left in me
If You come to me then, I will sit up and sing

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